Rakuten Eagles Eagles pitcher Kosei Shoji (25) will start the game against the Chiba Lotte Marines on the 28th at ZOZO Marine Stadium. The team is currently on a two-game losing streak and has a record of 1 win and 4 losses in their last five games. Shoji said, "We haven't been able to play good games lately, so everyone wants to get a win here. I want to break this losing streak."

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I could see through Shoji's different mound handling compared to last season. His last appearance was against Nippon-Ham on the 21st. With one out and bases loaded in the third inning, he threw two pitches in a row from the strike to right-handed hitter Gunji and dug into the inside corner with two seam fastball from the first . Finally, he swung and missed on the outside cutter struck out. Following that, Mannami also flies to right with a two seam fastball at 152 km/h inside. "Since I was marking breaking ball, I chose a two seam fastball that could be clogged with a ground ball." With a new pitch, he managed to get out of trouble just as intended.

This season, as the first Opening Day pitcher, he has pitched in four games, recording 3 wins and 1 loss, ERA 2.67. He threw 27 inning and showed a dominant pitch with 31 strike out. While splitter and cutter are showing their power, the two seam fastball adopted as new pitches also broadens the range of pitch.

Until last season, the two-seam two seam fastball was something he "only threw for fun." One of the reasons he introduced it as a new pitch is the change in the environment of his home stadium. From this season, home run terrace has been installed at Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park. The left-center and right-center fields have been moved forward by up to 6 meters. "At first, I thought that the stadium would be smaller, so I wanted to design my pitching so that the ball wouldn't be hit too far, and that's why I tried the two-seam two seam fastball. A straight fastball is a pitch that is prone to becoming a fly ball, and it is a ball that has a high risk of going into the stands if you make one wrong move. I thought that having the two-two seam fastball would make the batter hesitate a little." He is trying out the two-seam two seam fastball which changes direction at hitter 's hands, as an effective means of avoiding hard hits.

It was the words of a legend that pushed him to pitch more in the game. Ken Maeda, who joined the team this season, gave him some advice. He said, "You will move more than you think if you throw in a game. You can get good pitches, and it's easy to get the hang of it, so try it. With this advice in mind, he has been actively throwing in actual games to hone his game.

Despite the positive results, Shoji's self-assessment remains extremely harsh. He laughs, saying his current skill level is "level 1." The young right-hander, a key starting pitcher, is already looking ahead to further improvement. (Kota Miyauchi)